Men in a Shed

Written by Steve Barnes Tuesday, 06 April 2010 01:34

I've just been at Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia for Easterfest 2010, a Christian music and entertainment festival. I guess there may have been up to 40,000 people there, in all ages, shapes and sizes. The main entertainment was spanned across five or six major venues, with small stuff happening all over the place.

I had a stand for 100 Good Men at Easterfest three years ago. Timo, John, myself and some other helpers gave away about fifteen hundred 100 Good Men magazines that weekend, but despite the hundreds of men we talked to, I had the distinct impression that although they knew their need of each other as men, nothing was really happening. That was also born out with follow through to membership in our previous 100 Good Men web site; lots of enthusiastic "I'm in!" promises, but little follow-through.

This time, I perceived something has changed. Something is happening among men.

There was a 'Shed' at Easterfest. It was 'Men Only' territory. Men wandered in and stayed a while, just chatting. There were some scheduled speakers to cover off some important topics (I didn't get to any), but perhaps the biggest work was 'man 2 man'. It's not formal (thank you Lord!), it's organic. It's not about appearance, it's about transparency. It's not about prominence, it's about humility. It's about Jesus working in men's hearts.

It stirred me to find that this is not just happening at Easterfest. In fact, the dynamic at Easterfest was a result of a male spiritual awakening scattered as wide as the home bases of the participants a 'The Shed'.

Our sovereign Lord Jesus Christ is truely doing something. He's awakening the men. Will this mean a new wineskin to hold the new wine? To my appreciation, it's certainly more a Hebrew paradigm than a Greek / Roman / pagan one. Gone is the registered organisation, church, not-for-profit.  Gone is the special time, special place, special person, special things and rites. Gone is the big "leadership" thing. It seems to me that God is stripping away all the dross that has chained men, and setting them free in Christ; knowing their deliverer and saviour, understanding their liberty and walking in new life together encouraging one another to grow in Him. In fact, I heard men say they have deliberately resisted making anything formal.

What will happen if this continues to grow? The fruit of the Spirit will pervade. The blessing will spill out into families, relatives, workplaces and social interactions. It will losen bonds. It will set wives free of burdens they have carried because of the peace that will settle on them. Children will grow more secure and see God more clearly because their earthly fathers wiloll know Him and walk with Him.

With every move of the Spirit there is both acceptance and rejection. There are those that embrace, and those who oppose. Do not forget though that every major move of the Spirit and reformation of the Church has been started on 'the fringes', and not by the establishment. God chooses vessels to work with, and many are not esteemed in the eyes of men.

This time I believe many dormant servants, trained quietly in the wilderness, will rise to examplify servant leadership. They will want no position, They will crave no power. They will carry or claim no name except that of Christ. They will be the kind of servant leaders spoken of by Paul. They will bring unity in the Spirit.

If you see positive spiritual changes happening in the men around you, and it's due to God's pervading power, do not resist the working of the Spirit; rather bow your knee to Jesus Christ, surrendering all earthly attachments to denominations, earthly leaders and programs, for He alone is Lord.

Let us approach this organic change humbly and respectfully.